Polypeptides derived from calcitonin receptors and methods of use

ABSTRACT

The present invention is based, in part, on our discovery of compositions and methods that can be used to treat a patient who has a compromised bone (due, for example, to a disease such as osteoporosis or an injury such as a bone fracture). The compositions can also be administered prophylactically. For example, they can be administered to help maintain bone health as a patient ages. More specifically, the compositions include polypeptides that constitute (or that include) a fragment of a calcitonin receptor (CR) and polypeptides that constitute (or include) biologically active variants of those fragments. Sequence-specific formulas are provided herein, and polypeptides conforming to those formulas, as well as nucleic acids encoding them, expression vectors, host cells, pharmaceutical formulations, and methods of their preparation and use are within the scope of the present invention.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application is a U.S. national phase application of theinternational application PCT/US2011/063707, filed Dec. 7, 2011, whichclaims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Application No. 61/420,969, whichwas filed Dec. 8, 2010. With regard to any U.S. applications or patentsthat claim the benefit of that priority date, the entire content of U.S.Provisional Application No. 61/420,969 is hereby incorporated byreference in its entirety.

The present application contains a Sequence Listing that has beensubmitted in ASCII format via EFS-Web and is hereby incorporated byreference into the present specification in its entirety. The .txt filewas created on Dec. 2, 2015; is named 50089-009US1_SSL; and is 20,999bytes in size.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

This invention relates to methods of treating patients who have adisorder or injury that affects a bone, and more particularly to methodsof making and using polypeptides derived from a calcitonin receptor totreat compromised bone.

BACKGROUND

Osteoporosis is one of the unfortunate sequelae of increased lifeexpectancy and is a chronic disorder that predisposes individuals tofractures. Approximately 10 million Americans alone have osteoporosisand about 34 million more have an increased risk of developingosteoporotic fractures because of low bone mass. Thus, just over half ofthe people in the U.S. that are over 50 years old are at risk. Recentadvances have led to the introduction of many drugs to treatosteoporosis. However, many patients still have an inadequate clinicaloutcome and remain at risk.

Studies of osteoporosis are likely to consider the dynamics of boneremodeling; osteoclasts mediate bone resorption and osteoblasts mediatebone formation. Bone remodeling regulates calcium homeostasis in that,bone resorption by the osteoclasts releases stored calcium into thesystemic circulation, and bone formation by osteoblasts fixescirculating calcium in its mineral form. Disrupting this balance betweenbone resorption and formation can result in various bone pathologies inwhich bone mineral density (BMD) is reduced, bone micro architecture isdisrupted, and the amount and variety of non-collagenous proteins inbone is altered.

SUMMARY

The present invention is based, in part, on our discovery ofcompositions and methods that can be used to treat a patient who has acompromised bone (due, for example, to a disease such as osteoporosis oran injury such as a bone fracture). The compositions can also beadministered prophylactically. For example, they can be administered tohelp maintain bone health as a patient ages. More specifically, thecompositions include polypeptides that constitute (or that include) afragment of a calcitonin receptor (CR) and polypeptides that constitute(or include) biologically active variants of those fragments. The CR canbe any CR that is naturally expressed. For example, a polypeptide of theinvention can include a sequence that is identical to the sequence of aportion of a CR expressed in a mammalian cell (e.g., a human cell, anon-human primate cell, a rodent cell (e.g., a mouse, rat, hamster, orgerbil cell), a canine cell, a feline cell, a porcine cell, a bovinecell, or a CR of another mammalian cell). Further, the CR may be of anyisoform (e.g., isoform 1, isoform 2, or isoform 3). As noted, instead ofincluding a naturally occurring fragment, the polypeptide can include asequence that is a biologically active variant of a naturally occurringCR sequence. For ease of reading, we will not repeat phrases such as “ora biologically active variant thereof” at every opportunity. It is to beunderstood that where a polypeptide that constitutes or includes anaturally occurring fragment of a CR is useful, a variant that retainssufficient biological activity to function in the methods of theinvention can also be used.

In one aspect, the polypeptide of the invention consists of or includesa fragment of a calcitonin receptor or a biologically active variantthereof, the amino acid sequence of the polypeptide conforming toFormula (I):Trp-Xaa₂-Gln-Xaa₄-Xaa₅-Xaa₆-Gln-Trp-Xaa₉-Xaa₁₀-Arg-Trp  (I) (SEQ IDNO:1).In Formula (I), Xaa₂ is Ala, Val, Thr, or Asn; Xaa₄ is Phe or Tyr; Xaa₅is Lys or Gln; Xaa₆ is Ile or Ala; Xaa₉ is Asn or Ser; and Xaa₁₀ is Glnor His. In particular embodiments, Xaa₂ can be Ala; Xaa₄ can be Phe;Xaa₅ can be Lys; Xaa₆ can be Ile; Xaa₉ can be Asn or Ser; and Xaa₁₀ canbe Gln. It will be evident from the formula that certain Trp, Gln, andArg residues are invariant. While the invention is not limited topolypeptides that function according to any one given molecularmechanism, it is our current understanding that the invariant residues(as shown in Formula I and the other formulas provided herein) arelinked to functionality. To produce a biologically active variant ofFormula I, the carboxy-terminal Trp residue can be omitted. The residueswithin the polypeptides can be selected independently of one another orin view of one another. In these embodiments and any others describedherein, the polypeptide can be substantially pure.

A polypeptide of the invention can conform to Formula (I) and canfurther include at least one additional glutamate (Glu) or pyroglutamate(pGlu) residue at the amino terminus of the polypeptide. A polypeptideof the invention can include the amino acid triplet Lys-Arg-Gln at theamino terminus of the polypeptide. In that event, the amino acidsequence of the polypeptide would conform to:Lys-Arg-Gln-Trp-Xaa₂-Gln-Xaa₄-Xaa₅-Xaa₆-Gln-Trp-Xaa₉-Xaa₁₀-Arg-Trp (SEQID NO:2), with the unspecified residues selected from those listedabove. The carboxy terminal may also be extended. For example, thecarboxy terminal of the polypeptide can further include the amino acidtriplet Gly-Arg-Arg. In that event the amino acid sequence of thepolypeptide would conform to:Trp-Xaa₂-Gln-Xaa₄-Xaa₅-Xaa₆-Gln-Trp-Xaa₉-Xaa₁₀-Arg-Trp-Gly-Arg-Arg (SEQID NO:3). In these embodiments and any others described herein, thecarboxy terminus of the polypeptide can be amidated. The inventionencompasses variants of these polypeptides and any others describedherein (e.g., the polypeptides shown in Table 1) in which thecarboxy-terminal residues (e.g., Tip or Arg) have been omitted.

More specifically, a polypeptide of the invention can have an amino acidsequence that is identical to or that includes an amino acid sequenceshown in Table 1. Alternatively, the polypeptide can be, or can include,a biologically active variant of one of these amino acid sequences.

TABLE 1 Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp (SEQ ID NO: 4)Trp-Val-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp (SEQ ID NO: 5)Trp-Thr-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-Gln-Arg-Trp (SEQ ID NO: 6)Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-His-Arg-Trp (SEQ ID NO: 7)Glu/pGlu-Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp (SEQ ID NO: 8)Glu/pGlu-Trp-Val-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp (SEQ ID NO: 9)Glu/pGlu-Trp-Thr-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-Gln-Arg-Trp (SEQ ID NO: 10)Glu/pGlu-Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-His-Arg-Trp (SEQ ID NO: 11)Lys-Arg-Gln-Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp(SEQ ID NO: 12)Lys-Arg-Gln-Trp-Val-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp(SEQ ID NO: 13)Lys-Arg-Gln-Trp-Thr-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-Gln-Arg-Trp(SEQ ID NO: 14)Lys-Arg-Gln-Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-His-Arg-Trp(SEQ ID NO: 15)Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp-Gly-Arg-Arg(SEQ ID NO: 16)Trp-Val-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp-Gly-Arg-Arg(SEQ ID NO: 17)Trp-Thr-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-Gln-Arg-Trp-Gly-Arg-Arg(SEQ ID NO: 18)Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-His-Arg-Trp-Gly-Arg-Arg(SEQ ID NO: 19)Glu/pGlu-Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp-Gly-Arg-Arg(SEQ ID NO: 20)Glu/pGlu-Trp-Val-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp-Gly-Arg-Arg(SEQ ID NO: 21)Glu/pGlu-Trp-Thr-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-Gln-Arg-Trp-Gly-Arg-Arg(SEQ ID NO: 22)Glu/pGlu-Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-His-Arg-Trp-Gly-Arg-Arg(SEQ ID NO: 23)Lys-Arg-Gln-Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp-Gly-Arg-Arg(SEQ ID NO: 24)Lys-Arg-Gln-Trp-Val-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp-Gly-Arg-Arg(SEQ ID NO: 25)Lys-Arg-Gln-Trp-Thr-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-Gln-Arg-Trp-Gly-Arg-Arg(SEQ ID NO: 26)Lys-Arg-Gln-Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-His-Arg-Trp-Gly-Arg-Arg(SEQ ID NO: 27)

Given the present formulas, the present provisions, and examples such asthose provided in Table 1, one of ordinary skill in the art is well ableto select various substituted amino acid residues from among thosepermitted and to make and use peptides conforming to the presentformulas and variants thereof.

The polypeptides of the invention can be characterized in terms of theirsimilarity to a reference sequence. For example, the invention featuressubstantially pure polypeptides that have, or that include, an aminoacid sequence that is at least 60% identical to an amino acid sequenceshown in Table 1 or otherwise described herein. For example, thepolypeptide can be at least 60% identical to:Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp (SEQ ID NO:4). Thepolypeptide can differ from the reference sequence by virtue ofsubstitution, deletion, or addition of at least one amino acid residueor by a combination of one or more substitutions, deletions, oradditions. For example, the polypeptide can lack the carboxy-terminalTrp residue and may be otherwise configured as described herein. Forexample, the amino-terminal can be extended to include the amino acidtriplet Lys-Arg-Gln. Polypeptides that consist of, or that include, anamino acid sequence that is at least 60% identical to a referencesequence (i.e., a portion of a CR, examples of which are shown herein)and that retain sufficient biological activity to positively impact boneare biologically active variants of a fragment of a CR.

In another aspect, the polypeptides of the invention can consist of, orinclude, a sequence conforming to the formula:Xaa₁-Xaa₂-Xaa₃-Trp-Xaa₅-Gln-Xaa₇-Xaa₈-Xaa₉-Gln-Xaa₁₁-Xaa₁₂-Xaa₁₃-Arg(III) (SEQ ID NO:34). Within Formula (III), Xaa₁ is Lys or is absent;Xaa₂ is Arg or is absent; Xaa₃ is Gln, pyroglutamate (pGln) or isabsent; Xaa₅ is Ala, Val, Thr or Asn; Xaa₇ is Phe or Tyr; Xaa₈ is Lys orGln; Xaa₉ is Ile or Ala; Xaa₁₀ is Trp or is absent; Xaa₁₂ is Asn, Ser oris absent; and Xaa₁₃ is Gln, His or is absent. The polypeptide can have,but is not limited to, 7-14 amino acid residues. As in other formulaspresented herein, Xaa represents an amino acid, which we may also referto as an amino acid residue. The subscripts (here, the subscripts 1-13)represent the positions of each amino acid in the peptide sequence.Thus, Xaa₁ represents the first amino acid residue in a polypeptide ofthe invention (with Xaa₁-Xaa₃ representing the optional trimerLys-Arg-Gln. For example, a polypeptide of the invention can consist of,or can include, the amino acid sequenceLys-Arg-Gln-Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg (SEQ ID NO:35).Similarly, any of the polypeptides described herein can terminate at thearginine residue corresponding to the Arg at position 14 of SEQ ID NO:34or 35. Where the CR-derived polypeptide terminates, the carboxy terminusmay further include the amino acid triplet Gly-Arg-Arg.

The amino acid residues included in polypeptides of the invention can beof the D- or L-form or a combination thereof. Where the polypeptide is abiologically active variant of a fragment of a CR, the polypeptide canbe a variant by virtue of including a non-naturally occurring amino acidresidue. For example, a polypeptide of the invention can include one ormore pGlu residues (e.g., at the amino terminus). The polypeptides canalso include more than one CR-derived sequence. For example, thepolypeptides can include two, three, or four tandem repeats of aCR-derived sequence (e.g., a sequence conforming to SEQ ID NO:4 and/orbiologically active variants thereof). The polypeptides can be separatedby a linker (e.g., a peptide linker that may be cleavable by a cellularenzyme).

The polypeptides of the invention can also include structuralmodifications that may, for example, enhance the therapeutic efficacy ofthe polypeptides or assist clinicians in monitoring a course oftreatment with the polypeptides. Structural modifications can be madeduring or after polypeptide translation or chemical synthesis. Forexample, the polypeptides can be amidated. Alternatively, or inaddition, the polypeptides can include a detectable marker. Both theform and position of the detectable marker can vary, as long as thepolypeptides retain sufficient biological activity to remain useful. Themarker can be, for example, a photoaffinity ligand, a radioisotope, or afluorescent or chemiluminescent compound.

In addition to the polypeptides described herein, the invention featurespharmaceutical formulations that include these polypeptides, nucleicacids that encode them, host cells that express them, and kits includingone or more of these compositions. The nucleic acids, vectors containingthem, and host cells can also be formulated as pharmaceuticalpreparations.

Methods for constructing nucleic acids that encode a given polypeptideare well known in the art. The nucleic acids that encode a fragment of aCR or a biologically active variant thereof include those that are codonoptimized. For expression, the nucleic acids can readily be incorporatedinto a vector (e.g., a plasmid or viral vector), and such vectors areencompassed by the invention. The nucleic acids can be operably linkedto a regulatory region suitable for use in either a prokaryotic or aeukaryotic system, many of which are known in the art and can be used toproduce the polypeptides described herein. In specific embodiments, theregulatory region can be, for example, a promoter or enhancer. Usefulpromoters include cell type-specific promoters, tissue-specificpromoters, constitutively active promoters, and broadly expressingpromoters. As noted, host cells including vectors that express apolypeptide of the invention are also encompassed by the invention, andthese cells can be prokaryotic (e.g., bacterial) or eukaryotic (e.g.,mammalian).

The polypeptides, nucleic acids, vectors, and host cells of theinvention can be formulated as pharmaceutical compositions. For example,these compositions can be formulated as non-toxic preparations forparenteral (e.g., intravenous) administration. The pharmaceuticalcompositions can include polypeptides of more than one sequence. Forexample, the pharmaceutical compositions can include a first polypeptidehaving a sequence that is identical to that of a fragment of a CR and asecond polypeptide that is a biologically active variant thereof (e.g.,a sequence including a pGln residue). In other words, the pharmaceuticalformulations can include mixtures of polypeptides. As noted above, thepolypeptides of the invention encompass those in which more than one ofthe CR-derived polypeptides of the invention is included within a longerpolypeptide, and such multimers, whether assembled as fusion proteins orconjugates, can also be formulated for administration to a patient.Carriers and stabilizing agents may be added to facilitate drug deliveryand to insure shelf-life. For example, encapsulation of the polypeptidesin a suitable delivery vehicle (e.g., polymeric microparticles,implantable devices, or any configuration for timed-, delayed-, orcontrolled release) may increase the efficiency of delivery.

The methods of the invention include methods for treating a subject(e.g., a human patient) who has a compromised bone or bone tissue. Thecompromise may be due to a disorder, a term we use to encompass adisease or physiological condition of any sort that compromises bone, orto a traumatic injury, whether resulting from, for example, an accidentor sporting injury, or whether induced intentionally, for example in thecontext of a surgical procedure. For example, the condition may have agenetic basis, may be related to a dietary problem, may result from orbe associated with aging, or may result from or be associated withcancer or a benign growth. The cause may also be unknown. The disordermay be one that diminishes bone density. More specifically, patientsamenable to treatment with the compositions described herein may havebeen diagnosed as having, or to be at risk for developing, osteoporosis,osteopenia, osteomalacia, Paget's disease of the bone, osteogenesisimperfecta, or renal osteodystrophy and osteonecrosis (also termedavascular necrosis, bone infarction, aseptic necrosis, and ischemic bonenecrosis). As noted, other subjects may have a cancer (e.g., a tumor) ornon-malignant growth (e.g., a bone cyst) that affects bone density. Thecancer can be a bone cancer per se (i.e., a primary tumor thatoriginates in the bone), such as osteosarcoma. The cancer can also be asecondary tumor that has metastasized to the bone from another site(e.g., a breast, lung, prostate, or kidney tumor). Thus, patientsamenable to treatment include those who have cancer that may metastasizeto the bone. As noted, bone may also be compromised by an injury, andthe injury may be unintentional (i.e., accidental) or intentional (e.g.,it may result from a surgical procedure on a bone). In otherembodiments, directed to prophylactic use, the polypeptides of theinvention (or nucleic acids encoding them) can be administeredprophylactically to maintain bone (e.g., bone strength) as a patientages. Any patient can be treated, but patients who are about or at least50 years old are particular candidates. While the treatment methods ofthe invention, whether therapeutic or prophylactic, are suitable forhuman use, the invention is not so limited, and veterinary use is alsoencompassed.

The methods of the invention can include a step of identifying a subjectwho has or who is likely to develop compromised bone. Unless the contextclearly indicates otherwise, we use the terms “subject” and “patient”interchangeably. Whether prophylactic or therapeutic, the methodsinvolve administering to the subject a pharmaceutical composition asdescribed herein. The active agent (e.g., the CR-derived polypeptide)will be present in a therapeutically effective amount, and the route ofadministration and regime can vary. It is understood in the art that therequired dosage, dosing schedule, and length of treatment depend uponvarious factors typically considered by one of ordinary skill in theart. These factors include the route of administration, the nature ofthe formulation, the nature of the patient's illness, the subject'ssize, weight, surface area, age, gender, other drugs being administeredto the patient, and the judgment of the attending physician. Suitabledosages are in the range of 0.01-100.0 μg/kg. Our in vitro cell culturestudies show that effective concentrations in vitro range from about2-15 μM. The compositions can be administered along with or in additionto another treatment for particular bone disorders (e.g., drug therapy,immobilization, surgery, or immunotherapy). While we believe weunderstand certain events that are likely to occur in the course oftreatment, the compositions of the present invention are not limited tothose that work by affecting any particular cellular mechanism.

In addition to prophylactic and therapeutic methods to, for example,maintain, repair, replace, strengthen, or fully or partially heal,restore, or improve the strength of a bone, the present inventionfeatures methods of making the polypeptides, nucleic acids, vectors, andtransformed host cells described herein and methods of incorporatingthose agents into physiologically acceptable (e.g., pharmaceuticallyacceptable) compositions.

The details of one or more embodiments of the invention are set forth inthe accompanying drawings and the description below. Other features,objects, and advantages of the invention will be apparent from thedescription and drawings, and from the claims.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a representation of the amino acid sequence of a humancalcitonin receptor (SEQ ID NO:44). An exemplary polypeptide of theinvention is underlined.

FIG. 2 is an alignment of polypeptides derived from calcitonin receptorsof several mammals (rabbit, mouse, rat, pig, and human sequences areshown; SEQ ID Nos.:45-49, respectively, in order of appearance).Scrambled polypeptides (polypeptides having the same amino acids as thepolypeptide derived from a human calcitonin receptor, but in a scrambledorder), are also shown (SEQ ID Nos.:50 and 36-38, respectively, in orderof appearance).

FIG. 3 is a panel of photomicrographs illustrating the effect of CRP onfracture healing as simulated in an osteoblast cell culture.

FIG. 4 is a panel of photomicrographs illustrating the effect ofpolypeptides of the present invention on the formation of bone matrix assimulated by treatment of hFOB cells in culture.

FIG. 5 is a panel of histomicrographs from a rat fracture callus stainedwith anti-CRP antibodies (DAB detection). The low magnification image(A) shows the fracture site (FX, arrow) with regions of trabecular bone(TB), cortical bone (CB), fibrocartilage (FC), and cartilage (CA). Animage obtained at higher magnification (B) shows positiveimmunoreactivity in large lining cells (arrowheads). An image obtainedat higher magnification of a region of cartilage (C) shows a lack ofreactivity.

FIG. 6 is a pair of bar graphs illustrating data obtained frommicro-computed tomography of cortical bone from the femoral midshafts ofovariectomized rats treated with either a vehicle-only control or ratCRP. The graphs plot the periosteal surface (mm²) and periosteal volume(mm³), which are both greater following CRP treatment.

FIG. 7 is a panel of bar graphs illustrating data obtained frommicro-computed tomography of cortical bone from the femoral midshafts ofovariectomized rats treated with either a vehicle-only control or ratCRP. The graphs plot the average polar moment of inertia, the maximumprincipal moment of inertia, and the minimum principal moment ofinertia, all of which were significantly greater following CRPtreatment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

Bone matrix is a dense mixture composed mainly of collagen fibers andcalcium phosphate particles, with a population of living cells containedwithin. Despite its rigidity, bone continually undergoes a remodelingprocess that requires the coordinated activity of two types of cells,osteoclasts and osteoblasts. Osteoclasts are related to macrophages, anderode the bone matrix by secreting acids and hydrolases to dissolve boneminerals and digest organic components. Osteoblasts arise fromundifferentiated precursor cells, and deposit a mineralized matrixconsisting of osteoid, where other minerals like calcium and phosphorussolidify the osteoid, leading to the formation of new bone. Osteoblastshave also been shown to express factors which regulate thedifferentiation and function of osteoclasts. The balance between theactivity of osteoblasts and osteoclasts plays an important role indetermining the mass and density of bone. Misregulation of osteoblastsand osteoclasts may be a contributing factor in many bone disordersincluding osteoporosis, in which bone mass is greatly reduced.

The calcitonin receptor (CR) is a seven-transmembrane spanning G-proteincoupled receptor involved in the regulation of osteoclast-mediated boneresorption and in maintaining calcium homeostasis. The calcitoninreceptor is the specific receptor for the peptide hormone calcitonin,and it has also been referred to in the art as CTR, CT-R, CRT, CTR1 andCALCR. Polymorphisms in the CR gene have been associated with variationsin bone mineral density and the onset of osteoporosis. CR is expressedin a variety of cell types, including osteoclasts.

Bone disorders remain a major cause of morbidity. The chronic,progressive nature of many bone disorders can have a debilitating effecton every aspect of a person's daily life. In the elderly, bone disorderssuch as osteoporosis contribute to an increased risk of bone fracturesthat may significantly impact both the quality of life and lifeexpectancy. For many individuals with bone disorders, the availableremedies consist primarily of palliative care rather than curativetreatments. There is a continuing need for therapeutic strategies thattarget bone formation and maintenance.

Disclosed herein are materials and methods related to the production anduse of fragments of a CR and biologically active variants thereof forthe treatment and management of bone, including aging and compromisedbone.

Polypeptides:

We refer to the amino acid-based compositions of the invention as“polypeptides” to convey that they are linear polymers of amino acidresidues, and to help distinguish them from full-length proteins. Whilethe content of the polypeptides of the invention can vary, none of themare full-length, naturally-occurring CRs. We have stated that apolypeptide of the invention can “constitute” or “include” a fragment ofa CR, and the invention encompasses polypeptides that constitute orinclude fragments of a CR or biologically active variants thereof. Itwill be understood that the polypeptides can therefore include only afragment of a CR (or a biologically active variant thereof) but mayinclude additional residues as well.

An amino acid sequence of a human calcitonin receptor, from whichpolypeptides of the invention can be derived, is shown in FIG. 1.Although the invention is not so limited, residues suitable forinclusion in a polypeptide of the invention are underlined (see alsoGenBank sequence NM_001164737.1 public GI:260064023). Other useful andrepresentative forms of CR are known in the art (see, e.g.,NP_001158209.1 public GI:260064024; NM_001164738.1 public GI:260064026;NP_001158210.1; public GI:260064027; NM_001742.3; public GI:260064022;NP_001733.1; public GI:4502547). For example, the polypeptides of theinvention can be derived from a homolog or ortholog of a human CR (seeFIG. 2), and polypeptides of these forms are encompassed by the presentinvention.

The polypeptides of the invention can vary in length. For example, thepolypeptides can be 8-40 (e.g., 12, 14, 16, 18, or 20) amino acids longor longer (e.g., up to about 40 residues).

More specifically, in one aspect, the polypeptide of the invention is,or includes, a fragment of a calcitonin receptor or a biologicallyactive variant of such a fragment, the amino acid sequence of thepolypeptide conforming to Formula (I):

(SEQ ID NO: 1) Trp-Xaa₂-Gln-Xaa₄-Xaa₅-Xaa₆-Gln-Trp-Xaa₉-Xaa₁₀-Arg-Trp (I).In Formula (I), Xaa₂ is Ala, Val, Thr, or Asn; Xaa₄ is Phe or Tyr; Xaa₅is Lys or Gln; Xaa₆ is Ile or Ala; Xaa₉ is Asn or Ser; and Xaa₁₀ is Glnor His. In particular embodiments, Xaa₂ can be Ala; Xaa₄ can be Phe;Xaa₅ can be Lys; Xaa₆ can be Ile; Xaa₉ can be Asn; and Xaa₁₀ can be Gln.These residues can be selected independently of one another or in viewof one another. In these embodiments and any others described herein,the polypeptide can be substantially pure.

A polypeptide of the invention can conform to Formula (I) and canfurther include at least one additional glutamate (Glu) or pyroglutamate(pGlu) residue at the amino terminus of the polypeptide. A polypeptideof the invention can include the amino acid triplet Lys-Arg-Gln at theamino terminus of the polypeptide. In that event, the amino acidsequence of the polypeptide would conform to:Lys-Arg-Gln-Trp-Xaa₂-Gln-Xaa₄-Xaa₅-Xaa₆-Gln-Trp-Xaa₉-Xaa₁₀-Arg-Trp (SEQID NO:2), with the unspecified residues selected from those listedabove. The carboxy terminal may also be extended. For example, thecarboxy terminal of the polypeptide can further include the amino acidtriplet Gly-Arg-Arg. In that event the amino acid sequence of thepolypeptide would conform to:Trp-Xaa₂-Gln-Xaa₄-Xaa₅-Xaa₆-Gln-Trp-Xaa₉-Xaa₁₀-Arg-Trp-Gly-Arg-Arg (SEQID NO:3). In these embodiments and any others described herein, thecarboxy terminus of the polypeptide can be amidated.

In order to accommodate longer polypeptides, we derived Formula (II).Accordingly, the polypeptides of the invention can have, or can include,a sequence of amino acid residues conforming to Formula (II):

(SEQ ID NO: 28) Xaa₁-Xaa₂-Xaa₃-Trp-Xaa₅-Gln-Xaa₇-Xaa₈-Xaa₉-Gln-Xaa₁₁-Xaa₁₂-Xaa₁₃-Arg-Trp-Xaa₁₆-Gly- Xaa₁₈- Xaa₁₉ (II).Within Formula (II), Xaa₁ is Lys or is absent; Xaa₂ is Arg or is absent;Xaa₃ is Gln, pyroglutamate (pGln) or is absent; Xaa₅ is Ala, Val, Thr orAsn; Xaa₇ is Phe or Tyr; Xaa₈ is Lys or Gln; Xaa₉ is Ile or Ala; Xaa₁₁is Trp or is absent; Xaa₁₂ is Asn, Ser or is absent; Xaa₁₃ is Gln, Hisor is absent; Xaa₁₆ is Ala or is absent; Xaa₁₇ is Gly or is absent;Xaa₁₈ is Arg or is absent; and Xaa₁₉ is Arg or is absent. Xaa representsan amino acid, which we may also refer to as an amino acid residue. Thesubscripts (here, the subscripts 1-19) represent the positions of eachamino acid in the peptide sequence. Thus, Xaa₁ represents the firstamino acid residue in a polypeptide of the invention. To producebiologically active variants of the polypeptides of Formula II, one cantruncate the polypeptide following the Arg residue at position 14(between Arg and Trp).

In addition to the polypeptides shown in Table 1, the inventionencompasses the following polypeptides, which were derived from aporcine CR and conform to Formula (II):

Lys-Arg-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Tyr-Gln-Ala-Gln-Arg-Trp-Ala-Gly-Arg-Arg (SEQ IDNO:29);

Glu/pGlu-Trp-Asn-Gln-Tyr-Gln-Ala-Gln-Arg-Trp-Ala (SEQ ID NO:30);

Trp-Asn-Gln-Tyr-Gln-Ala-Gln-Arg-Trp-Ala (SEQ ID NO:31);

Trp-Asn-Gln-Tyr-Gln-Ala-Gln-Arg-Trp-Ala-Gly-Arg-Arg (SEQ ID NO:32); and

Glu/pGlu-Trp-Asn-Gln-Tyr-Gln-Ala-Gln-Arg-Trp-Ala-Gly-Arg-Arg (SEQ IDNO:33). To generate biologically active variants of these polypeptides,SEQ ID NO:30 can be terminated after the Arg residue at position 9; SEQID NO:31 can be terminated after the Arg residue at position 8; SEQ IDNO:32 can be terminated after the Arg residue at position 12; and SEQ IDNO:33 can be terminated after the Arg residue at position 13.

In another aspect, the polypeptides of the invention can consist of, orinclude, a sequence conforming to the formula:

Xaa₁-Xaa₂-Xaa₃-Trp-Xaa₅-Gln-Xaa₇-Xaa₈-Xaa₉-Gln-Xaa₁₁-Xaa₁₂-Xaa₁₃-Arg(III) (SEQ ID NO:34). Within Formula (III), Xaa₁ is Lys or is absent;Xaa₂ is Arg or is absent; Xaa₃ is Gln, pyroglutamate (pGln) or isabsent; Xaa₅ is Ala, Val, Thr or Asn; Xaa₇ is Phe or Tyr; Xaa₈ is Lys orGln; Xaa₉ is Ile or Ala; Xaa₁₁ is Trp or is absent; Xaa₁₂ is Asn, Ser oris absent; and Xaa₁₃ is Gln, His or is absent. The polypeptide can have,but is not limited to, 7-14 amino acid residues.

In the formulas, amino acid residues are represented by the standardthree-letter code. Where a variety of residues may be used, the aminoacid is represented by Xaa, and the subscript represents the position ofeach amino acid in the generic formula. Other variant sequences, notspecifically listed here, will be readily apparent, given the presentformulas, provisions, and examples, to one of ordinary skill in the art.

For the sake of added clarity, the polypeptides of the invention excludenaturally occurring full-length CRs, but such full-length CRs may beincluded in the pharmaceutical compositions described herein, modifiedas described herein (e.g., amidated), and used together with thepresently described polypeptides in any method or embodiment of thepresent invention.

The bonds between the amino acid residues can be conventional peptidebonds or another covalent bond (such as an ester or ether bond), and thepolypeptides can be modified by amidation, phosphorylation orglycosylation. A modification can affect the polypeptide backbone and/orone or more side chains. Chemical modifications can be naturallyoccurring modifications made in vivo following translation of an mRNAencoding the polypeptide (e.g., glycosylation in a bacterial host) orsynthetic modifications made in vitro. A biologically active variant ofa fragment of a CR can include one or more structural modificationsresulting from any combination of naturally occurring (i.e., madenaturally in vivo) and synthetic modifications (i.e., naturallyoccurring or non-naturally occurring modifications made in vitro).Examples of modifications include, but are not limited to, amidation(e.g., replacement of the free carboxyl group at the C-terminus by anamino group); biotinylation (e.g., acylation of lysine or other reactiveamino acid residues with a biotin molecule); glycosylation (e.g.,addition of a glycosyl group to either asparagines, hydroxylysine,serine or threonine residues to generate a glycoprotein orglycopeptide); acetylation (e.g., the addition of an acetyl group,typically at the N-terminus of a polypeptide); alkylation (e.g., theaddition of an alkyl group); isoprenylation (e.g., the addition of anisoprenoid group); lipoylation (e.g. attachment of a lipoate moiety);and phosphorylation (e.g., addition of a phosphate group to serine,tyrosine, threonine or histidine).

A particularly suitable post-translational modification for the presentpolypeptides is amidation. For example, the C-terminal residue caninclude an amino group. In vivo, amidation typically occurs at internalglycine residues and requires the sequential actions of three enzymes:two proteases (“paired basics”-specific endopetidase (e.g., prohormoneconvertase I) and carboxypetidase H) that cleave the precursor at theglycine residues and the amidating enzyme, peptidylglycine amidatingmonooxygenase (PAM). PAM catalyzes amide formation by hydroxylation ofthe glycine residue; the hydroxyglycine derivative dissociates to form apeptide that includes a C-terminal amide and glyoxylic acid. Methods forchemical synthesis of peptides amidated at the C-terminus are well knownin the art. The synthesis can be carried out in solution or bysolid-phase peptide synthetic techniques. Specific solid-phase methodsfor generating the amide group include, for example, without limitation,acidolysis of a benzhydral amide linkage between the peptide and thesolid-support and ammonolysis of a peptide-resin ester linkage.

One or more of the amino acid residues in a biologically active variantmay be a non-naturally occurring amino acid residue. Naturally occurringamino acid residues include those naturally encoded by the genetic codeas well as non-standard amino acids (e.g., amino acids having theD-configuration instead of the L-configuration). The present peptidescan also include amino acid residues that are modified versions ofstandard residues (e.g. pyrrolysine can be used in place of lysine andselenocysteine can be used in place of cysteine). Non-naturallyoccurring amino acid residues are those that have not been found innature, but that conform to the basic formula of an amino acid and canbe incorporated into a peptide. These includeD-alloisoleucine(2R,3S)-2-amino-3-methylpentanoic acid and L-cyclopentylglycine (S)-2-amino-2-cyclopentyl acetic acid. For other examples, onecan consult textbooks or the worldwide web (for example, a site iscurrently maintained by the California institute of Technology anddisplays structures of non-natural amino acids that have beensuccessfully incorporated into functional proteins). Non-natural aminoacid residues and amino acid derivatives listed in U.S. Application No.20040204561 (see ¶ 0042, for example) can also be used. Alternatively,or in addition, one or more of the amino acid residues in a biologicallyactive variant can be a naturally occurring residue that differs fromthe naturally occurring residue found in the corresponding position in awild type CR sequence. In other words, biologically active variants caninclude one or more amino acid substitutions, and these may besubstitutions with naturally or non-naturally occurring residues (or acombination thereof). We may refer to a substitution, addition, ordeletion of amino acid residues as a mutation of the wild type sequence.As noted, the substitution can replace a naturally occurring amino acidresidue with a non-naturally occurring residue or just a differentnaturally occurring residue. Further the substitution can constitute aconservative or non-conservative substitution. Conservative amino acidsubstitutions typically include substitutions within the followinggroups: glycine and alanine; valine, isoleucine, and leucine; asparticacid and glutamic acid; asparagine, glutamine, serine and threonine;lysine, histidine and arginine; and phenylalanine and tyrosine.

The polypeptides that are biologically active variants of a CR can becharacterized in terms of the extent to which their sequence is similarto or identical to the corresponding fragment of the CR. For example,the sequence of a biologically active variant can be at least or about60% identical to corresponding residues in a wild type CR. For example,a biologically active variant of a CR polypeptide can have an amino acidsequence with at least or about 60% sequence identity (e.g., at least orabout 65%, 70%, 75%, 80%, 85%, 90%, 95%, 97%, 98%, or 99% sequenceidentity) to a CR protein (e.g., to the amino acid sequence set forth inSEQ ID NO:4 or to another polypeptide as described herein (e.g., apolypeptide shown in Table 1 or represented by, for example, SEQ IDNOs:29-34 and 39-41) or to a homolog or ortholog thereof).

A biologically active variant of a CR polypeptide will retain sufficientbiological activity to be useful in the present methods. The biologicalactivity can be assessed in ways known to one of ordinary skill in theart and includes, without limitation, inhibition of bone resorption byosteoclasts, enhancement of calcium excretion, regulation of calciumhomeostasis, G-protein activation and interaction with receptoractivity-modifying proteins (RAMPs) forming the multimeric amylinreceptors AMY₁ (CT+RAMP1), AMY₂ (CT+RAMP2), and AMY₃ (CT+RAMP3).

Biologically active variants can be identified, for example, bycomparing the relative activities of the variant polypeptide with thatof an active fragment of a CR. The assays can include an unrelatedcontrol polypeptide (e.g., one could include in any given assay apeptide that has the same amino acid content randomly arranged; see alsothe vehicle-only and other controls referenced in the Examples). Somebiologically active variants may even have greater biological activitythan the cognate, naturally occurring fragment or a full-length CR. Morespecifically, a biologically active variant can have at least or about30%, 40%, 50%, 60%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, 98%, or more of the biologicalactivity of the native form polypeptide.

The methods that can be used to assess activity include in silicoanalyses, in vitro assays, cell-based assays and whole animal, in vivo,model systems. These assays can be configured to test the effect of anygiven fragment of a CR, or a variant thereof, on processes such ascalcium mobilization, G-protein activation (e.g., GTP binding toGs-alpha), bone matrix deposition and expression of genes in signaltransduction pathways relating to bone matrix production.

Useful cell-based assays include those that examine activation of theG-protein coupled receptor complexes for CR. The complexes include 1)the Gs-alpha subunit of the heterotrimeric G protein subunit thatactivates the cAMP-dependent pathway by activating adenylate cyclase and2) Gq, a heterotrimeric G protein subunit that activates phospholipase C(PLC). PLC in turn hydrolyzes phosphatidylinositol 4,5-bisphosphate(PIP₂) to diacyl glycerol (DAG) and inositol triphosphate (IP₃) signaltransduction pathway. DAG acts as a second messenger that activatesprotein kinase C (PKC) and IP₃ helps in phosphorylation of someproteins. G-protein coupled receptors convert the peptide-receptorrecognition signal into a small number of different “second messengers”(e.g., calcium fluxes across membranes, cyclic nucleotides, andphosphoinositides). Thus, modulation in the level or activity of one ormore second messengers in polypeptide-treated cells relative to thecorresponding levels in control (e.g., untreated) cells can beindicative of activation of the G-protein coupled receptor complex forCR, and assessing CR, fragments of a CR protein, and variants thereofindicates the relative levels of biological activity each agentpossesses.

Assessing second messenger activity is routine in the art, and kits andreagents for performing such assays are readily available fromcommercial sources. For example, alterations in calcium levels can beassayed with calcium-sensitive dyes such as Calcium Crimson-AM(Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.), FLIPR (Molecular Devices, Sunnyvale,Calif.), Fluo4 and Fura Red (Caliper Life Sciences, Hopkinton, Mass.),which can be monitored either by microscopy or fluorometry. Modulationof cyclic nucleotides can be assayed by chemiluminescence, immunoassays,or fluorescence polarization techniques. Changes in phosphoinositidelevels can be evaluated by fluorescence polarization, immunoassays andother downstream markers such as D-myo-inositol 1-phosphate.

Peptide activity can also be monitored in cell-based assays that measurethe impact of a given polypeptide (whether it is a fragment of a CR or avariant thereof) on specific cell functions (e.g., bone matrixproduction, or the signaling pathways involved in cell functions).Methods of measuring various bone matrix production are well-known inthe art. In the context of the present invention, suitable assaysinclude, for example, assays that measure calcium concentration usingAlizarin Red S staining and von Kossa staining. Methods of analyzingsignaling pathways are also well-known in the art and include, forexample, RT-PCR analysis, gene arrays, immunoblotting, ELISA assays,Multidimensional Protein Identification Technology (MudPIT). Suchanalysis can involve a single gene, or multiple genes. Exemplary genesinclude but are not limited to calcitonin, osteonectin, osteopontin,Wnt, bone morphogenetic proteins (BMP), parathyroid hormone (PTH) orcytokines.

Any cell type that is responsive to a polypeptide of the invention, orany tissue containing such responsive cells, can be used to assessbiological activity, including cell lines and explants. Particularlyuseful cell lines include the differentiating pre-osteoblast cell line,MC3T3-E1 and the immortalized human fetal osteoblast cell line, hFOB1.19. Cell lines can be obtained from standard commercial sources andfrom depositories such as The American Type Culture Collection.

The present polypeptides can also be evaluated in vivo. Model animalsystems for osteoporosis include sheep, rabbits and rats (e.g., theovariectomized rat). Model systems for fractures include the rat femurfracture model. Such model animals can be treated with a polypeptide ofthe invention and screened (e.g., radiologically). In addition, tissuesamples can be removed and analyzed by von Kossa staining and/orimmunocytochemistry with antibodies to proteins involved in bone matrixproduction (e.g., osteocalcin, osteonectin, osteopontin, collagen, Wnt,or BMP).

The polypeptides of the invention can be chemically synthesized,obtained from natural sources (insofar as they constitute fragments of anaturally occurring CR), or purified from cells in which they arerecombinantly produced. Of course, molecular techniques can be used toexpress polypeptides having a sequence that is identical to a portion ofa CR or biologically active variants thereof; the methods required forpolypeptide synthesis, expression and purification are well known in theart. For example, polypeptides can be chemically synthesized usingstandard f-moc chemistry and purified using high pressure liquidchromatography (HPLC). Fragments of a CR and biologically activevariants thereof can be purified by any method known in the art,including without limitation, fractionation, centrifugation, andchromatography (e.g., gel filtration, ion exchange chromatography,reverse-phase HPLC and immunoaffinity purification).

The polypeptides may be, but are not necessarily, substantially pure. Apolypeptide of the invention, whether it contains a sequence that isidentical to a portion of a CR or a biologically active variant thereof,should be considered substantially pure when it has been separated froma substantial amount of the material with which it was previouslyassociated (e.g., cellular components where the polypeptide isrecombinantly produced or reagents where the polypeptide is chemicallysynthesized). For example, a polypeptide of the invention issubstantially pure when it is present in a composition in which itconstitutes at least or about 60% of the composition by weight (e.g., atleast or about 65%, 70%, 80%, 90%, 95%, or 99%). If tested byelectrophoresis, a substantially pure polypeptide will yield a singlemajor band on a non-reducing polyacrylamide gel.

To produce a recombinant polypeptide of the invention, a nucleic acidsequence encoding the polypeptide can be incorporated into (e.g.,ligated into) an expression vector and used to transform a prokaryoticcell (e.g., a bacterial cell) or transfect a eukaryotic host cell (e.g.,an insect, yeast, or mammalian host cell). In general, nucleic acidconstructs can include one or more regulatory sequences operably linkedto a nucleic acid sequence encoding a polypeptide of the invention.Regulatory sequences (e.g., promoters, enhancers, polyadenylationsignals, and terminators) do not typically encode a protein/polypeptide,but instead affect the expression of a nucleic acid sequence. Suchtransformed or transfected cells can then be used, for example, forlarge or small scale production of the selected fragment of a CR (or abiologically active variant thereof) by methods known in the art. Inessence, such methods involve culturing the cells under conditionssuitable for production of the polypeptide and isolating the polypeptidefrom the cells or from the culture medium.

A construct can include a tag sequence designed to facilitate subsequentmanipulations of the expressed nucleic acid sequence. For example, thetag can facilitate purification or localization. Tag sequences, such asgreen fluorescent protein (GFP), glutathione S-transferase (GST), c-myc,hemagglutinin, β-galactosidase, or Flag™ tag (Kodak) sequences aretypically expressed as a fusion with the polypeptide encoded by thenucleic acid sequence. Such tags can be inserted in a nucleic acidsequence such that they are expressed anywhere along an encodedpolypeptide including, for example, at either the carboxyl or aminotermini. The type and combination of regulatory and tag sequences canvary with each particular host, cloning or expression system, anddesired outcome. A variety of cloning and expression vectors containingcombinations of regulatory and tag sequences are commercially available.Suitable cloning vectors include, without limitation, pUC18, pUC19, andpBR322 and derivatives thereof (New England Biolabs, Beverly, Mass.),and pGEN (Promega, Madison, Wis.). Additionally, representativeprokaryotic expression vectors include, without limitation, pBAD(Invitrogen, Carlsbad, Calif.), the pTYB family of vectors (New EnglandBiolabs), and pGEMEX vectors (Promega); representative mammalianexpression vectors include, without limitation, pTet-On/pTet-Off(Clontech, Palo Alto, Calif.), pIND, pVAX1, pCR3.1, pcDNA3.1, pcDNA4, orpUni (Invitrogen), and pCI or pSI (Promega); representative insectexpression vectors include, without limitation, pBacPAK8 or pBacPAK9(Clontech), and p2Bac (Invitrogen); and representative yeast expressionvectors include, without limitation, MATCHMAKER (Clontech) and pPICZ A,B, and C (Invitrogen).

In bacterial systems, Escherichia coli can be used to express a fragmentof a CR or a biologically active variant thereof. For example, the E.coli strain DH10B (Invitrogen) can be transformed with the gram negativebroad host range vector, pCM66 containing a nucleic acid sequenceencoding a fragment of a CR protein. In another example, BL-21 cells canbe transformed with a pGEX vector containing a nucleic acid sequenceencoding a polypeptide of the invention. The transformed bacteria can begrown exponentially and then stimulated withisopropylthiogalactopyranoside (IPTG) prior to harvesting. In general,the polypeptides produced from a pGEX expression vector can be purifiedfrom lysed cells by adsorption to glutathione-agarose beads followed byelution in the presence of free glutathione. The pGEX vectors can bedesigned to include thrombin or factor Xa protease cleavage sites sothat the expressed polypeptide can be released from the GST moiety.

The invention further encompasses peptidomimetics of fragments of a CR,which are small, protein-like polymers containing non-peptidicstructural elements that are capable of mimicking or antagonizing thebiological actions of a natural parent peptide (here, a fragment of a CRor a biologically active variant thereof). In addition to beingsynthetic, non-peptide compounds, peptidomimetics can have athree-dimensional conformation (i.e., a “peptide motif”) that issubstantially the same as the three-dimensional conformation of aselected polypeptide. The peptide motif provides the peptidomimeticcompound with the ability to bind the receptor in a manner qualitativelyidentical to that of the parent peptide from which the peptidomimeticwas derived. Peptidomimetic compounds can have additionalcharacteristics that enhance their therapeutic utility, such as anincreased biological half-life.

The peptidomimetics typically have a backbone that is partially orcompletely non-peptide, but with side groups that are identical to theside groups of the amino acid residues that occur in the peptide onwhich the peptidomimetic is based. Several types of chemical bonds(e.g., ester, thioester, thioamide, retroamide, reduced carbonyl,dimethylene and ketomethylene bonds) are known in the art to begenerally useful substitutes for peptide bonds in the construction ofprotease-resistant peptidomimetics and can be used in the context of thepresent peptides).

Any peptidomimetic that has a sufficient amount of biological activity(e.g., an amount that renders the peptidomimetic experimentally orclinically useful) can be used.

As noted above in describing suitable expression vectors, the presentpolypeptides can include a tag, which may also be referred to as areporter or marker (e.g., a detectable marker). A detectable marker canbe any molecule that is covalently linked to the fragment of a CR or abiologically active fragment thereof that allows for qualitative and/orquantitative assessment of the expression or activity of the taggedpeptide. The activity can include a biological activity, aphysico-chemical activity, or a combination thereof. Both the form andposition of the detectable marker can vary, as long as the labeledpeptide retains biological activity. Many different markers can be used,and the choice of a particular marker will depend upon the desiredapplication. Labeled polypeptides can be used, for example, forevaluating the phamacokinetics of the polypeptide both in cell-basedsystems and in whole animal models.

Suitable markers include, for example, enzymes, photo-affinity ligands,radioisotopes, and fluorescent or chemiluminescent compounds. Methods ofintroducing detectable markers into peptides are well known in the art.Markers can be added during synthesis or post-synthetically. Recombinantpolypeptides can also be labeled by the addition of labeled precursors(e.g., radiolabeled amino acids) to the culture medium in which thetransformed cells are grown. In some embodiments, analogues or variantsof the polypeptides of the invention can be used in order to facilitateincorporation of detectable markers. For example, any N-terminalphenylalanine residue can be replaced with a closely related aromaticamino acid, such as tyrosine, that can be easily labeled with ¹²⁵I. Insome embodiments, additional functional groups that support effectivelabeling can be added to the polypeptides. For example, a3-tributyltinbenzoyl group can be added to the N-terminus of the nativestructure; subsequent displacement of the tributyltin group with ¹²⁵Iwill generate a radiolabeled iodobenzoyl group.

Nucleic Acids:

We may use the terms “nucleic acid” and “polynucleotide” interchangeablyto refer to both RNA and DNA, including cDNA, genomic DNA, syntheticDNA, and DNA (or RNA) containing nucleic acid analogs, any of which mayencode a polypeptide of the invention and all of which are encompassedby the invention. Polynucleotides can have essentially anythree-dimensional structure. A nucleic acid can be double-stranded orsingle-stranded (i.e., a sense strand or an antisense strand).Non-limiting examples of polynucleotides include genes, gene fragments,exons, introns, messenger RNA (mRNA) and portions thereof, transfer RNA,ribosomal RNA, siRNA, micro-RNA, ribozymes, cDNA, recombinantpolynucleotides, branched polynucleotides, plasmids, vectors, isolatedDNA of any sequence, isolated RNA of any sequence, nucleic acid probes,and primers, as well as nucleic acid analogs. In the context of thepresent invention, nucleic acids can encode a fragment of a naturallyoccurring CR or a biologically active variant thereof.

An “isolated” nucleic acid can be, for example, a naturally-occurringDNA molecule or a fragment thereof, provided that at least one of thenucleic acid sequences normally found immediately flanking that DNAmolecule in a naturally-occurring genome is removed or absent. Thus, anisolated nucleic acid includes, without limitation, a DNA molecule thatexists as a separate molecule, independent of other sequences (e.g., achemically synthesized nucleic acid, or a cDNA or genomic DNA fragmentproduced by the polymerase chain reaction (PCR) or restrictionendonuclease treatment). An isolated nucleic acid also refers to a DNAmolecule that is incorporated into a vector, an autonomously replicatingplasmid, a virus, or into the genomic DNA of a prokaryote or eukaryote.In addition, an isolated nucleic acid can include an engineered nucleicacid such as a DNA molecule that is part of a hybrid or fusion nucleicacid. A nucleic acid existing among many (e.g., dozens, or hundreds tomillions) of other nucleic acids within, for example, cDNA libraries orgenomic libraries, or gel slices containing a genomic DNA restrictiondigest, is not an isolated nucleic acid.

Isolated nucleic acid molecules can be produced by standard techniques.For example, polymerase chain reaction (PCR) techniques can be used toobtain an isolated nucleic acid containing a nucleotide sequencedescribed herein, including nucleotide sequences encoding a polypeptidedescribed herein (i.e. a fragment of a CR protein or a biologicallyactive variant thereof). PCR can be used to amplify specific sequencesfrom DNA as well as RNA, including sequences from total genomic DNA ortotal cellular RNA. Various PCR methods are described in, for example,PCR Primer: A Laboratory Manual, Dieffenbach and Dveksler, eds., ColdSpring Harbor Laboratory Press, 1995. Generally, sequence informationfrom the ends of the region of interest or beyond is employed to designoligonucleotide primers that are identical or similar in sequence toopposite strands of the template to be amplified. Various PCR strategiesalso are available by which site-specific nucleotide sequencemodifications can be introduced into a template nucleic acid (as one maywish to do, for example, when making a biologically active variant of afragment of a CR protein).

Isolated nucleic acids also can be chemically synthesized, either as asingle nucleic acid molecule (e.g., using automated DNA synthesis in the3′ to 5′ direction using phosphoramidite technology) or as a series ofoligonucleotides. For example, one or more pairs of longoligonucleotides (e.g., >50-100 nucleotides) can be synthesized thatcontain the desired sequence, with each pair containing a short segmentof complementarity (e.g., about 15 nucleotides) such that a duplex isformed when the oligonucleotide pair is annealed. DNA polymerase is usedto extend the oligonucleotides, resulting in a single, double-strandednucleic acid molecule per oligonucleotide pair, which then can beligated into a vector. Isolated nucleic acids of the invention also canbe obtained by mutagenesis of, e.g., a naturally occurring portion of aCR-encoding DNA (in accordance with, for example, the formula above).

Two nucleic acids or the polypeptides they encode may be described ashaving a certain degree of identity to one another. For example, afragment of a CR protein and a biologically active variant thereof maybe described as exhibiting a certain degree of identity. Alignments maybe assembled by locating short CR sequence in the Protein InformationResearch (PIR) site (pir.georgetown.edu), followed by analysis with the“short nearly identical sequences” Basic Local Alignment Search Tool(BLAST) algorithm on the NCBI website (ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/blast).

As used herein, the term “percent sequence identity” refers to thedegree of identity between any given query sequence and a subjectsequence. For example, a naturally occurring CR can be the querysequence and a fragment of a CR protein can be the subject sequence.Similarly, a fragment of a CR protein can be the query sequence and abiologically active variant thereof can be the subject sequence.

To determine sequence identity, a query nucleic acid or amino acidsequence can be aligned to one or more subject nucleic acid or aminoacid sequences, respectively, using the computer program ClustalW(version 1.83, default parameters), which allows alignments of nucleicacid or protein sequences to be carried out across their entire length(global alignment). See Chenna et al., Nucleic Acids Res. 31:3497-3500,2003.

ClustalW calculates the best match between a query and one or moresubject sequences and aligns them so that identities, similarities anddifferences can be determined. Gaps of one or more residues can beinserted into a query sequence, a subject sequence, or both, to maximizesequence alignments. For fast pair wise alignment of nucleic acidsequences, the following default parameters are used: word size: 2;window size: 4; scoring method: percentage; number of top diagonals: 4;and gap penalty: 5. For multiple alignments of nucleic acid sequences,the following parameters are used: gap opening penalty: 10.0; gapextension penalty: 5.0; and weight transitions: yes. For fast pair wisealignment of protein sequences, the following parameters are used: wordsize: 1; window size: 5; scoring method: percentage; number of topdiagonals: 5; gap penalty: 3. For multiple alignment of proteinsequences, the following parameters are used: weight matrix: blosum; gapopening penalty: 10.0; gap extension penalty: 0.05; hydrophilic gaps:on; hydrophilic residues: Gly, Pro, Ser, Asn, Asp, Gln, Glu, Arg, andLys; residue-specific gap penalties: on. The output is a sequencealignment that reflects the relationship between sequences. ClustalW canbe run, for example, at the Baylor College of Medicine Search Launchersite (searchlauncher.bcm.tmc.edu/multi-align/multi-align.html) and atthe European Bioinformatics Institute site on the World Wide Web(ebi.ac.uk/clustalw).

To determine a percent identity between a query sequence and a subjectsequence, ClustalW divides the number of identities in the bestalignment by the number of residues compared (gap positions areexcluded), and multiplies the result by 100. The output is the percentidentity of the subject sequence with respect to the query sequence. Itis noted that the percent identity value can be rounded to the nearesttenth. For example, 78.11, 78.12, 78.13, and 78.14 are rounded down to78.1, while 78.15, 78.16, 78.17, 78.18, and 78.19 are rounded up to78.2.

The nucleic acids and polypeptides described herein may be referred toas “exogenous”. The term “exogenous” indicates that the nucleic acid orpolypeptide is part of, or encoded by, a recombinant nucleic acidconstruct, or is not in its natural environment. For example, anexogenous nucleic acid can be a sequence from one species introducedinto another species, i.e., a heterologous nucleic acid. Typically, suchan exogenous nucleic acid is introduced into the other species via arecombinant nucleic acid construct. An exogenous nucleic acid can alsobe a sequence that is native to an organism and that has beenreintroduced into cells of that organism. An exogenous nucleic acid thatincludes a native sequence can often be distinguished from the naturallyoccurring sequence by the presence of non-natural sequences linked tothe exogenous nucleic acid, e.g., non-native regulatory sequencesflanking a native sequence in a recombinant nucleic acid construct. Inaddition, stably transformed exogenous nucleic acids typically areintegrated at positions other than the position where the nativesequence is found.

Recombinant constructs are also provided herein and can be used totransform cells in order to express fragments of a CR protein. Arecombinant nucleic acid construct comprises a nucleic acid encoding afragment of a CR protein as described herein, operably linked to aregulatory region suitable for expressing the fragment of a CR proteinin the cell. Thus, a nucleic acid can comprise a coding sequence thatencodes any of the fragments of a CR protein as set forth in, forexample, in SEQ ID NO:4 or another polypeptide as described herein(e.g., a polypeptide shown in Table 1 or represented by, for example,SEQ ID NOs:29-34 or 39-41, or to homolog or ortholog thereof). In somecases, a recombinant nucleic acid construct can include a nucleic acidcomprising a coding sequence, a gene, or a fragment of a coding sequenceor gene in an antisense orientation so that the antisense strand of RNAis transcribed. It will be appreciated that a number of nucleic acidscan encode a polypeptide having a particular amino acid sequence. Thedegeneracy of the genetic code is well known in the art. For many aminoacids, there is more than one nucleotide triplet that serves as thecodon for the amino acid. For example, codons in the coding sequence fora given fragment of a CR protein can be modified such that optimalexpression in a particular organism is obtained, using appropriate codonbias tables for that organism.

Vectors containing nucleic acids such as those described herein also areprovided. A “vector” is a replicon, such as a plasmid, phage, or cosmid,into which another DNA segment may be inserted so as to bring about thereplication of the inserted segment. Generally, a vector is capable ofreplication when associated with the proper control elements. Suitablevector backbones include, for example, those routinely used in the artsuch as plasmids, viruses, artificial chromosomes, BACs, YACs, or PACs.The term “vector” includes cloning and expression vectors, as well asviral vectors and integrating vectors. An “expression vector” is avector that includes a regulatory region. Suitable expression vectorsinclude, without limitation, plasmids and viral vectors derived from,for example, bacteriophage, baculoviruses, and retroviruses. Numerousvectors and expression systems are commercially available from suchcorporations as Novagen (Madison, Wis.), Clontech (Palo Alto, Calif.),Stratagene (La Jolla, Calif.), and Invitrogen/Life Technologies(Carlsbad, Calif.).

The vectors provided herein also can include, for example, origins ofreplication, scaffold attachment regions (SARs), and/or markers. Amarker gene can confer a selectable phenotype on a host cell. Forexample, a marker can confer biocide resistance, such as resistance toan antibiotic (e.g., kanamycin, G418, bleomycin, or hygromycin). Asnoted above, an expression vector can include a tag sequence designed tofacilitate manipulation or detection (e.g., purification orlocalization) of the expressed polypeptide. Tag sequences, such as greenfluorescent protein (GFP), glutathione S-transferase (GST),polyhistidine, c-myc, hemagglutinin, or Flag™ tag (Kodak, New Haven,Conn.) sequences typically are expressed as a fusion with the encodedpolypeptide. Such tags can be inserted anywhere within the polypeptide,including at either the carboxyl or amino terminus.

The vector can also include a regulatory region. The term “regulatoryregion” refers to nucleotide sequences that influence transcription ortranslation initiation and rate, and stability and/or mobility of atranscription or translation product. Regulatory regions include,without limitation, promoter sequences, enhancer sequences, responseelements, protein recognition sites, inducible elements, protein bindingsequences, 5′ and 3′ untranslated regions (UTRs), transcriptional startsites, termination sequences, polyadenylation sequences, and introns.

As used herein, the term “operably linked” refers to positioning of aregulatory region and a sequence to be transcribed in a nucleic acid soas to influence transcription or translation of such a sequence. Forexample, to bring a coding sequence under the control of a promoter, thetranslation initiation site of the translational reading frame of thepolypeptide is typically positioned between one and about fiftynucleotides downstream of the promoter. A promoter can, however, bepositioned as much as about 5,000 nucleotides upstream of thetranslation initiation site or about 2,000 nucleotides upstream of thetranscription start site. A promoter typically comprises at least a core(basal) promoter. A promoter also may include at least one controlelement, such as an enhancer sequence, an upstream element or anupstream activation region (UAR). The choice of promoters to be includeddepends upon several factors, including, but not limited to, efficiency,selectability, inducibility, desired expression level, and cell- ortissue-preferential expression. It is a routine matter for one of skillin the art to modulate the expression of a coding sequence byappropriately selecting and positioning promoters and other regulatoryregions relative to the coding sequence.

Pharmaceutical Formulations:

The polypeptides, nucleic acids (including vector constructs), and hostcells of the invention can be formulated as stock solutions (suitablefor storage and dilution) or as pharmaceutical formulations (suitablefor administration to a patient).

The pharmaceutical formulations can include agents known in the art,including one or more physiologically acceptable carriers, excipients,or diluents. Further, the formulations can be made according to knownmethods for preparing peptide-based therapeutics for administration(e.g., by intravenous, intramuscular, subcutaneous, or intraperitonealinjection).

Methods of Treatment:

The polypeptides, nucleic acids (including vector constructs), and hostcells of the invention are useful in treating patients who are at riskof, or who have been diagnosed as having, a compromised bone.

Treatment can completely or partially abolish some or all of the signsand symptoms of the bone disorder, decrease the severity of thesymptoms, delay their onset, or lessen the progression or severity ofsubsequently developed symptoms.

Bone disorders that can be treated with the peptides described hereininclude those in which bone density is diminished. These disorders maybe the result of disease or of an unknown cause, and they may beinfluenced by one's genetic constitution. Diminished bone density is acommon underlying feature of many bone disorders. A patient who has abone disorder associated with diminished bone density is a candidate fortreatment with the present polypeptides. In some instances, it may bedetermined that administering a nucleic acid encoding a polypeptide ofthe invention is a preferred means of treatment or of reducing asubject's risk of developing a bone disorder.

Bone disorders include osteoporosis, osteopenia, osteomalacia, Paget'sdisease of the bone, osteogenesis imperfecta, or renal osteodystrophyand osteonecrosis (also termed avascular necrosis, bone infarction,aseptic necrosis, and ischemic bone necrosis). Other bone disorders canalso include tumors that affect bone density, for example, primarytumors that originate in bone, whether malignant or non-malignant (e.g.,bone cysts, chondrosarcomas, and osteosarcomas) or tumors that havemetastasized to bone tissue (e.g. tumors that have metastasized from thebreast, prostate, kidney, or other non-bone tumor). As noted, otherpatients amenable to treatment include those who have experienced aphysical trauma that damages the osseous tissue. For example, a subjectmay have a bone fracture or any other condition in which there is abreak in the continuity of the bone. In some instances, a physicalinjury can be the result of a metabolic condition or disease process(e.g., osteoporosis or a bone tumor).

Administration and Formulation:

Fragments of a calcitonin receptor and biologically active variantsthereof can be administered directly to a mammal. Generally, thepolypeptides can be suspended in a pharmaceutically acceptable carrier(e.g., physiological saline or a buffered saline solution) to facilitatetheir delivery. Encapsulation of the polypeptides in a suitable deliveryvehicle (e.g., polymeric microparticles or implantable devices) mayincrease the efficiency of delivery. A composition can be made bycombining any of the peptides provided herein with a pharmaceuticallyacceptable carrier. Such carriers can include, without limitation,sterile aqueous or non-aqueous solutions, suspensions, and emulsions.Examples of non-aqueous solvents include mineral oil, propylene glycol,polyethylene glycol, vegetable oils, and injectable organic esters.Aqueous carriers include, without limitation, water, alcohol, saline,and buffered solutions. Preservatives, flavorings, and other additivessuch as, for example, antimicrobials, anti-oxidants (e.g., propylgallate), chelating agents, inert gases, and the like may also bepresent. It will be appreciated that any material described herein thatis to be administered to a mammal can contain one or morepharmaceutically acceptable carriers.

Any composition described herein can be administered to any part of thehost's body for subsequent delivery to a calcitonin receptor proteinresponsive cell. A composition can be delivered to, without limitation,the bones, bone marrow, joints, nasal mucosa, blood, lungs, intestines,muscle tissues, skin, or the peritoneal cavity of a mammal. In terms ofroutes of delivery, a composition can be administered by intravenous,intraperitoneal, intramuscular, subcutaneous, intramuscular,intrarectal, intravaginal, intrathecal, intratracheal, intradermal, ortransdermal injection, by oral or nasal administration, or by gradualperfusion over time. In a further example, an aerosol preparation of acomposition can be given to a host by inhalation.

The dosage required will depend on the route of administration, thenature of the formulation, the nature of the patient's illness, thepatient's size, weight, surface area, age, and sex, other drugs beingadministered, and the judgment of the attending clinician. Suitabledosages are in the range of 0.01-1,000 μg/kg Wide variations in theneeded dosage are to be expected in view of the variety of fragments ofa calcitonin receptor protein and biologically active variants availableand the differing efficiencies of various routes of administration.Variations in these dosage levels can be adjusted using standardempirical routines for optimization, as is well understood in the art.Administrations can be single or multiple (e.g., 2- or 3-, 4-, 6-, 8-,10-, 20-, 50-, 100-, 150-, or more fold). Encapsulation of the fragmentsof a calcitonin receptor protein in a suitable delivery vehicle (e.g.,polymeric microparticles or implantable devices) may increase theefficiency of delivery.

The duration of treatment with any composition provided herein can beany length of time from as short as one day to as long as the life spanof the host (e.g., many years). For example, fragments of a calcitoninreceptor protein and biologically active variants thereof can beadministered once a week (for, for example, 4 weeks to many months oryears); once a month (for, for example, three to twelve months or formany years); or once a year for a period of 5 years, ten years, orlonger. It is also noted that the frequency of treatment can bevariable. For example, the present peptides can be administered once (ortwice, three times, etc.) daily, weekly, monthly, or yearly.

An effective amount of any composition provided herein can beadministered to an individual in need of treatment. The term “effective”as used herein refers to any amount that induces a desired responsewhile not inducing significant toxicity in the patient. Such an amountcan be determined by assessing a patient's response after administrationof a known amount of a particular composition. In addition, the level oftoxicity, if any, can be determined by assessing a patient's clinicalsymptoms before and after administering a known amount of a particularcomposition. It is noted that the effective amount of a particularcomposition administered to a patient can be adjusted according to adesired outcome as well as the patient's response and level of toxicity.Significant toxicity can vary for each particular patient and depends onmultiple factors including, without limitation, the patient's diseasestate, age, and tolerance to side effects.

Any method known to one of ordinary skill in the art can be used todetermine if a particular response is induced. Clinical methods that canassess the degree of a particular disease state can be used to determineif a response is induced. For example, in an osteoporosis patient, bonedensity measurements using standard methods (e.g., dual-energy x-rayabsorption (DEXA), quantitative CT-scans, or quantitative ultrasound ofthe heel) can be used to assess bone density. For some disorders, bloodor laboratory tests can be used to assist the clinician in evaluating apatient's response to a polypeptide of the invention. Exemplary testsinclude, for example, measurements of serum calcium levels, PTH levels,thyroid-stimulating hormone levels, and serum alkaline phosphataselevels. The particular methods used to evaluate a response will dependupon the nature of the patient's disorder, the patient's age, and sex,other drugs being administered, and the judgment of the attendingclinician.

Alternatively, a polynucleotide containing a nucleic acid sequenceencoding a fragment of a CR or a biologically active fragment thereofcan be delivered to an appropriate cell of the subject. This can beachieved by, for example, the use of a polymeric, biodegradablemicroparticle or microcapsule delivery vehicle, sized to optimizephagocytosis by phagocytic cells such as macrophages. For example, PLGA(poly-lactide-co-glycolide) microparticles approximately 1-10 μm indiameter can be used. The polynucleotide is encapsulated in thesemicroparticles, which are taken up by macrophages and graduallybiodegraded within the cell, thereby releasing the polynucleotide. Oncereleased, the DNA is expressed within the cell. A second type ofmicroparticle is intended not to be taken up directly by cells, butrather to serve primarily as a slow-release reservoir of nucleic acidthat is taken up by cells only upon release from the micro-particlethrough biodegradation. These polymeric particles should therefore belarge enough to preclude phagocytosis (i.e., larger than 5 μm andpreferably larger than 20 μm).

Another way to achieve uptake of the nucleic acid is using liposomes,prepared by standard methods. The vectors can be incorporated alone intothese delivery vehicles or co-incorporated with tissue-specificantibodies. Alternatively, one can prepare a molecular conjugatecomposed of a plasmid or other vector attached to poly-L-lysine byelectrostatic or covalent forces. Poly-L-lysine binds to a ligand thatcan bind to a receptor on target cells. Delivery of “naked DNA” (i.e.,without a delivery vehicle) to an intramuscular, intradermal, orsubcutaneous site, is another means to achieve in vivo expression.

In the relevant polynucleotides (e.g., expression vectors) the nucleicacid sequence encoding the fragment of a CRP protein of interest (or thebiologically active variant thereof) with an initiator methionine andoptionally a targeting sequence is operatively linked to a promoter orenhancer-promoter combination. Promoters and enhancers are describedabove, and many are well known in the art.

Polynucleotides can be administered in a pharmaceutically acceptablecarrier. Pharmaceutically acceptable carriers are biologicallycompatible vehicles which are suitable for administration to a human orother mammalian subject (e.g., physiological saline). A therapeuticallyeffective amount is an amount of the polynucleotide which is capable ofproducing a medically desirable result (e.g., a decrease in clinicalmotor symptoms) in a treated mammal. As is well known in the medicalarts, the dosage for any one patient depends upon many factors,including the patient's size, body surface area, age, the particularcompound to be administered, sex, time and route of administration,general health, and other drugs being administered concurrently. Dosageswill vary, but a preferred dosage for administration of polynucleotideis from approximately 10⁶ to 10¹² copies of the polynucleotide molecule.This dose can be repeatedly administered, as needed. Routes ofadministration can be any of those listed above.

As noted, the present formulations encompass mixtures of thepolypeptides of the invention, and the formulations can include acombination of peptides of 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 15, 20, 30, ormore different amino acid sequences. The formulation can also include amixture of polypeptides based on post-synthetic modified (e.g.,amidation) or other post-translational modifications. Where nucleicacids are formulated as pharmaceutical compositions, the nucleic acidscan similarly encode polypeptides in the configurations just described.

The polypeptides provided herein can be administered in conjunction withother therapeutic modalities to an individual in need of therapy. Thepresent polypeptides can be given prior to, simultaneously with or aftertreatment with other agents or regimes. For example, the polypeptidescan be administered in conjunction with other therapies for treatingbone disorders, such as standard, small molecule-type pharmaceuticalagents, biopharmaceuticals (e.g., antibodies or antibody-relatedimmunotherapies, siRNAs, shRNAs, antisense oligonucleotides and otherRNA inhibitory molecules, microRNAs, and peptide therapeutics), surgery,or in conjunction with any medical devices that may be used to assistthe patient. Standard therapies for treating bone density disorders suchas osteoporosis can include, for example, bisphosphonates, salmoncalcitonin, estrogen, PTH and SERMs (selective estrogen receptormodulators, e.g., Raloxifene®.

The polypeptides can also be administered in conjunction with orthopedicsupports, analgesics, heat, massage, orthopedic garments and exerciseprograms. In some cases, vertebroplasty, sometimes preceded bykyphoplasty, can relieve severe pain. In vertebroplasty, methylmethacrylate is injected into the vertebral body. In kyphoplasty, thevertebral body is expanded with a balloon.

Kits:

The compositions described herein can also be assembled in kits,together with instructions for use. For example, the kits can includemeasured amounts of a pharmaceutically acceptable composition includingfragments of a CR protein and/or biologically active variants thereof.The instructions for use can be conveyed by any suitable media. Forexample, they can be printed on a paper insert in one or more languagesor supplied audibly or visually (e.g., on a compact disc). The packagingmaterials can include vials, packets, or intravenous bags, and the kitcan also include instruments useful in administration, such as needles,syringes, tubing, catheters, bandages, and tape. Preferably, thecomponents of the kit are sterile and suitable for immediate use. Theinvention encompasses kits, however, that include concentratedformulations and/or materials that may require reconstitution, dilution,sterilization, or some other preparatory step prior to use.

EXAMPLES Example 1 Identification of Calcitonin Receptor-DerivedPolypeptides

We identified a calcitonin receptor-derived polypeptide (CRP) using analgorithm designed to define precursors of pyroglutamylpeptide amides.The CRP amino acid sequence corresponded to the highly conservedG-protein interaction site in the C terminal region of a humancalcitonin receptor, and the polypeptides of the invention may becharacterized as including the sequence of such an interaction sites.The amino acid sequence of a human calcitonin receptor is shown in FIG.1, and the location of a CRP sequence is underlined.

Homologous sequences from other species were then identified using the“short nearly identical sequences” Basic Local Alignment Search Tool(BLAST) algorithm on the NCBI website (www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/blast) andthe Protein Information Research (PIR) site (www.pir.georgetown.edu).Amino acid sequence alignments of the CRP homologues from rabbit (SEQ IDNO:45), mouse (SEQ ID NO:46), rat (SEQ ID NO:47) and pig (SEQ ID NO:48)are shown in FIG. 2.

Example 2 Effect of CRP on Ca²⁺ Release and GTP Binding in PC12 Cells

We evaluated the effect of CRP on Ca²⁺ mobilization by calcium greenfluorescence monitoring in PC12 (rat adrenal pheochromocytoma) cells.CRP was synthesized with an N-terminal pyroglutamate (pGlu) moiety andan amidated C-terminal end.

CRP peptide was synthesized by conventional methods with an N-terminalpyroglutamate and an amidated C-terminal. The cells were treated withincreasing concentrations of CRP (33 μM, 66 μM, 99 μM, 132 μM and 165μM) in 50% DMSO. Negative control cells were treated with DMSO alone,and positive control cells were treated with 1 μM bradykinin. The risein internal calcium was monitored as the change in fluorescence units.The CRP-treated cells showed a strong dose-dependent calciummobilization response. No effect was seen with unamidated CRP (i.e., CRPhaving a carboxylic acid C-terminal) suggesting that only the amidatedpeptide was bioactive.

We also asked whether the rise in intracellular calcium was derived frominternal calcium stores or an influx of extracellular calcium. PC12cells were treated with CRP as above in the presence and absence ofextracellular calcium. The increase in intracellular calcium wasvirtually identical in CRP-treated cells grown in the presence orabsence of calcium, suggesting that the increase in intracellularcalcium was due to release of calcium from internal stores.

These data suggested that CRP acted via G-protein associatedtransmembrane receptors. The ability of CRP to activate G-proteinassociated transmembrane receptors was assayed directly. Briefly,purified G-protein alpha subunits were treated with increasingconcentrations of CRP (0.05, 0.1, 0.15, 0.2). CRP treated G-proteinsubunits showed a significant dose-dependent increase in GTP bindingrelative to DMSO-treated subunits.

Example 3 Effect of CRP on Bone Matrix Production in DifferentiatingCells

The effect of CRP on bone matrix production was assayed in thechondrocyte preosteoblast cell line, MC3T3-E1. The cells weredifferentiated according to the method provided with the MilliporeOsteogenesis kit and then treated with CRP at 1 or 10 μM for 48 hours.Bone matrix deposition was assayed according to the Alizarin Red Sstaining method provided with the Millipore Osteogenesis Quantitationkit. Relative to a standard curve generated using Alizarin dye,CRP-treated cells showed a dose-dependent increase in AlizarinRed-detectable calcium indicating a four to fivefold increase in bonematrix deposition. CRP increased the production of bone matrix in bothdifferentiating and terminally differentiated cells.

Example 4 Effect of CRP on Bone Matrix Production in DifferentiatedOsteoblasts

The effect of CRP on differentiated osteoblasts was analyzed in animmortalized human fetal osteoblast cell line, hFOB 1.19. hFOB cellswere incubated for 48 hours in increasing concentrations of CRP (4.6 μM,9.2 μM, 13.8 μM and 18.4 μM). Bone matrix formation was assayed using aMillipore Osteogenesis Quantitation kit as described above. Phasecontrast and fluorescent images of the Alizarin Red stained cells wereacquired using an Olympus-IMT microscope according to the manufacturer's(Millipore) specifications. Phase contrast images showed thatCRP-treated cells exhibited a dose-dependent increase in bone matrixdeposition. Increased bone matrix deposition was also detectable byfluorescence microscopy. Non-amidated CRP had no effect on bone matrixformation.

The sequence specificity of the effect of CRP on bone matrix formationwas evaluated using the scrambled peptide, {pGln}NFWQWWIQARKQ (SEQ IDNO:51), which was amidated at the C-terminus. hFOB cells were treated asdescribed above with 18.4 μM of the scrambled peptide, and bone matrixformation was assayed with the Millipore Osteogenesis Quantitation kitas described above. The scrambled peptide did not induce bone matrixformation, indicating that CRP had a sequence-specific effect on bonematrix formation.

We also tested the effect of CRP on osteocalcin, a regulator of bonematrix production, in the hFOB cell line. The cells were treated with4.6 or 13.8 μM CRP for 48 hours, then harvested and processed to obtaincellular protein extracts. Extracts were analyzed by SDS-PAGE andimmunoblotted with a polyclonal anti-osteocalcin antibody. We found adose-dependent increase in levels of osteocalcin in CRP-treated cells.

Example 5 Effect of CRP on Fracture Healing and the Formation of BoneMatrix

We simulated fractures (wounds) in confluent osteoblast cultures of hFOBcells by mechanically dissociating cells, and we then treated thewounded cultures with CRP. The cells were then treated with 50% DMSO or13.8 μM CRP, each for 24 hours. The cells were then fixed with 70%ethanol, washed with PBS, and photographed using an Olympus-IMTmicroscope. As shown in FIG. 3, a line of disruption, lacking confluentcells, is apparent soon after the simulated wound. After 24 hours, thewound was still visible in control, DMSO-treated cells, but was notvisible following CRP treatment.

In cell culture, we also studied the effect of amino acid substitutionsin CRP on the formation of bone matrix. hFOB cells were treated withhuman CRP (KRQWAQFKIQWNQR; SEQ ID NO:42) and, separately, mouse CRP(KRQWTQFKIQWSQR; SEQ ID NO:43) before staining with Alizarin dye toidentify the matrix that is formed. Fluorescent images were acquiredusing an Olympus-IMP microscope. As shown in FIG. 4, no calcium depositswere evident in an untreated culture, but treatment with both 12.5 μMhCRP and 12.5 μM mCRP produced calcium deposits.

Example 6 CRP Localization in Bone Fractures

We probed sections from a post-fracture day 10 rat fracture callus withan anti-CRP antibody, followed by DAB for detection. As shown in FIG. 5,an image obtained at low magnification (left-hand panel; A) showed thefracture site (FX, arrow) with regions of trabecular bone (TB), corticalbone (CB), fibrocartilage (FC), and cartilage (CA). Diffuse staining wasseen in regions of fibrocartilage and osteoid, with more punctatestaining seen in regions of trabecular bone. A higher magnificationimage of the region of trabecular bone contained within the region boxedin the left-hand panel, is shown in the center panel (B), with arrowshighlighting positive immunoreactivity in large lining cells. A highermagnification image of a region of cartilage boxed in the left-handpanel, is shown in the right-hand panel (C). No labeling was seen inthis region of cartilage.

Example 7 Micro-CT Results of Femur in CRP-Treated Ovariectomized Rats

We performed a micro-CT analysis of cortical bone from the femoralmidshafts of ovariectomized (OVX) rats treated with 50% DMSO (OVXVehicle) or 15 μM rat CRP (OVX 15 μM). Sprague Dawley rats (n=12/group)were ovariectomized at 6 months of age and allowed to lose bone for onemonth prior to treatment. They were then administered vehicle or 15 μMCRP (1 mL), via intraperitoneal injection, five times per week for fiveweeks. The animals were then sacrificed and their femora were harvested.The femora were scanned using microCT (Scanco uCT40) and 1.8 mm-longmid-diaphyseal regions of interest were analyzed. The results shown inFIG. 6 demonstrate that the average periosteal volume and periostealsurface were significantly greater in CRP-treated rats (p<0.05 usingANCOVA). Similarly, as shown in FIG. 7, the average polar moment ofinertia, the maximum principal moment of inertia, and the minimumprincipal moment of inertia, were all significantly greater followingCRP treatment (p<0.05 using ANCOVA).

A number of embodiments of the invention have been described.Nevertheless, it will be understood that various modifications may bemade without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention.Accordingly, other embodiments are within the scope of the followingclaims.

What is claimed is:
 1. A method of treating a patient who is at riskfor, or who has been diagnosed as having, a compromised bone, the methodcomprising administering to the patient a therapeutically effectiveamount of a pharmaceutical composition comprising a substantially purepolypeptide comprising a fragment of a calcitonin receptor, wherein thepolypeptide comprises an amino acid sequence conforming to:(SEQ ID NO:4); Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp(SEQ ID NO:5); Trp-Val-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp(SEQ ID NO:6); Trp-Thr-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-Gln-Arg-Trp or(SEQ ID NO:7), Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-His-Arg-Trp

and wherein the polypeptide is 12-18 amino acids in length and isamidated at the C-terminus.
 2. The method of claim 1, wherein thecompromised bone comprises cancerous cells.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the compromised bone is associated with a bone disorder.
 4. Themethod of claim 3, wherein the bone disorder is osteoporosis,osteopenia, osteomalacia or rickets.
 5. The method of claim 1, whereinthe compromised bone is a fractured bone.
 6. The method of claim 1,wherein the patient is a human patient.
 7. The method of claim 6,wherein the human patient is more than about 50 years old.
 8. The methodof claim 1, wherein the polypeptide comprisesTrp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp (SEQ ID NO:4).
 9. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the polypeptide comprisesTrp-Val-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp (SEQ ID NO:5).
 10. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the polypeptide comprisesTrp-Thr-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-Gln-Arg-Trp (SEQ ID NO:6).
 11. Themethod of claim 1, wherein the polypeptide comprisesTrp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-His-Arg-Trp (SEQ ID NO:7).
 12. Themethod of claim 6, wherein the polypeptide further comprises, at theamino terminus of the polypeptide: a glutamate (Glu) residue; apyroglutamate (pGlu) residue; or the amino acid sequence Lys-Arg-Gln.13. The method of claim 1, wherein the polypeptide comprises an aminoacid sequence conforming to: (SEQ ID NO:8);Glu/pG1u-Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln- Arg-Trp (SEQ ID NO:9);Glu/pG1u-Trp-Val-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln- Arg-Trp(SEQ ID NO:10);  Glu/pG1u-Trp-Thr-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-Gln-Arg-Trp or (SEQ ID NO:11)Glu/pG1u-Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-His- Arg-Trp.


14. The method of claim 1, wherein the polypeptide comprises an aminoacid sequence conforming to:Lys-Arg-Gln-Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp (SEQ IDNO:12); Lys-Arg-Gln-Trp-Val-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp (SEQID NO:13); Lys-Arg-Gln-Trp-Thr-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-Gln-Arg-Trp(SEQ ID NO:14); orLys-Arg-Gln-Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-His-Arg-Trp (SEQ IDNO:15).
 15. The method of claim 1, wherein the polypeptide consists ofan amino acid sequence conforming to: (SEQ ID NO: 4)Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp; (SEQ ID NO: 5)Trp-Val-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp; (SEQ ID NO: 6)Trp-Thr-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-Gln-Arg-Trp; (SEQ ID NO: 7)Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-His-Arg-Trp; (SEQ ID NO: 8)Gln/pGln-Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp; (SEQ ID NO: 9)Gln/pGln-Trp-Val-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp;(SEQ ID NO: 10)Gln/pGln-Trp-Thr-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-Gln-Arg-Trp;(SEQ ID NO: 11)Gln/pGln-Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-His-Arg-Trp;(SEQ ID NO: 12)Lys-Arg-Gln/pGln-Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp;(SEQ ID NO: 13)Lys-Arg-Gln/pGln-Trp-Val-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Asn-Gln-Arg-Trp;(SEQ ID NO: 14)Lys-Arg-Gln/pGln-Trp-Thr-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-Gln-Arg-Trp;(SEQ ID NO: 15)Lys-Arg-Gln/pGln-Trp-Ala-Gln-Phe-Lys-Ile-Gln-Trp-Ser-His-Arg-Trp.


16. The method of claim 1, wherein the pharmaceutical composition isformulated for parenteral administration.
 17. The method of claim 16,wherein the parenteral administration is intravenous administration.